Daniel Barenboim

TCHAIKOVSKY Pathétique / SCHOENBERG Variations 4782719

[Daniel Barenboim] here spearheads a disc that readily attests to his strengths as a conductor who can inspire orchestras to interpretative heights . . . a dazzling performance of the Variations Op 31 . . . Barenboim's art here is to show how essentially musical it is, triggering traditional emotions of excitement, wistfulness and, dare one say, romantic yearning. The orchestra responds acutely to Barenboim's depth of understanding and the spectrum of colour that Schoenberg deploys . . . Barenboim also has a firm grip on the dramatic shape of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony. An apt element of resignation emerges naturally from the contours and harmonies of the music, but there is defiant spirit, too. Barenboim inspires the orchestra to play magnificently, movingly and with palpable Tchaikovskian feeling throughout.

[A] splendid recording . . . [a] consummate harmonious communality in their interpretations of these two pieces . . . [The players] expertly embody both the exuberance of the penultimate movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 and the melancholy beauty of its framing outer sections.

Record Review /
Andy Gill,
Independent (London) / 15. April 2011

It's a highly exciting performance [of the Schoenberg], treating the work as a bravura concerto for orchestra . . . Barenboim's wonderfully flexible shaping of the first movement's second subject [of the Tchaikovsky] shows how sympathetic and responsive this orchestra can be . . . these are excellent performances in which both works are played to the highest standards.

[Schoenberg]: [it's a noble] piece, especially performed as well as this. The orchestra only exists for a few weeks a year. Who can doubt why it exists in the first place after listening to this?

Record Review /
Jeff Simon,
Buffalo News / 03. June 2011

[Schoenberg]: The West-Eastern musicians surmount the technical hurdles to create a polished and vivid performance. The orchestra ably highlights the multilayered textures and intriguing sonorities of this powerful work, an example of Schoenberg's gift for creating orchestral color . . . [Tchaikovsky]: The first movement's emotional surges and melancholy strains are beautifully conveyed here, with the moody transition of the development section heralded with startling vigor. The strings sound glowing in the gracious interpretation of the Allegro con Grazia, and the concluding Adagio Lamentoso unfolds in a blaze of intensity.